Marlboro district outlines a bleak future

MARLBOROUGH — Hundreds of people turned out for the first of a series of public meetings to discuss the dire state of the Marlboro School District's future Wednesday night.

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By JEREMIAH HORRIGAN

recordonline.com

By JEREMIAH HORRIGAN

Posted Nov. 29, 2012 at 2:00 AM

By JEREMIAH HORRIGAN
Posted Nov. 29, 2012 at 2:00 AM

Dynegy negotiations

Dynegy attorneys were still negotiating with potential buyers of the Roseton and Danskammer power plants at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Negotiations began Nov. 19 and took a break for Thanksgiving.

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Dynegy negotiations

Dynegy attorneys were still negotiating with potential buyers of the Roseton and Danskammer power plants at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Negotiations began Nov. 19 and took a break for Thanksgiving.

Workers at the plants, represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 320, have been on strike for close to three weeks.

Dynegy, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year, owes about $23 million in taxes to the Marlboro School District, the Town of Newburgh and Orange County, according to its August 2012 operating report.

Jessica DiNapoli

» Social News

MARLBOROUGH — Hundreds of people turned out for the first of a series of public meetings to discuss the dire state of the Marlboro School District's future Wednesday night.

No one had to be told the prognosis was not good. The district's residents, teachers and administrators are only too painfully aware that they face a future of severe program cutbacks, job losses and increased tax bills. They've known it for years; the district's former tax-paying golden goose, Dynegy, owner of the Danskammer and Roseton power plants, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Texas company's request to have its tax assessment cut by more than 90 percent could cost the district, the Town of Newburgh and Orange County $23 million in lost revenues.

The early part of Wednesday's meeting focused on how much money the district could save if it closed two of its three elementary schools.

District Superintendent Ray Castellani said that if both the Milton and Middle Hope elementary schools were closed, the district could save roughly $2 million. The closings would increase class sizes from roughly 21 students to about 32 per class.

Because Dynegy's bankruptcy case is still pending, Castellani said, the potential impact on district taxpayers could not yet be exactly determined. But he added that there was absolutely no doubt that taxes would increase. Between 40 and 50 teachers, administrators and staff members could lose their jobs by the end of the school year, he said.

"It's going to be painful all over," he said.

The crowd was quiet and attentive during Castellani's presentation. When he opened the meeting to questions, several comments won applause, including a suggestion that the district try to sell some of its empty acreage.

The school board was criticized several times for ignoring the problem over the years while spending "recklessly" on improvements. But the biggest round of applause came when a resident suggested that a different way of funding education be found.